Page 34 of Divine

“I know, and I’m sorry for not trusting that you would hold up your end of it. I’m so used to having to try to go around and dodge my brothers when I’m making my own decisions that I didn’t know if I could trust you.”

“Have I given you a reason not to trust me?” he questioned.

I sighed and shook my head. “Liam.”

“Answer the question, Divine.”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so. Fuck me for trying to be your friend,” he said as he stood.

When he turned to walk away, a lump formed in my throat. When making the decision to ditch Liam, something I never imagined would happen. I hurt him. He was right to think that we were friends, because up until the moment he walked out on me and slammed the door last night, I considered him as one of mine. Still, I couldn’t see past the reason that he was around me in the first place. I wasn’t sure that our friendship outweighed his job as my bodyguard.

“Liam!” I called to him hoping that he hadn’t decided to quit. He stopped in his tracks but didn’t look back.

“What is it, Divine?”

“The flowers are beautiful. Thank you.”

“Yeah,” he answered flatly before continuing to walk around the house.

The hardest thingI ever had to do was act like I didn’t want to be around Divine. She was magnetic. I never had to wonder where she was in the house because when I showed up for my shift, I went straight to her. For two whole weeks, I divided my time between her back yard where I tended to the steadily growing peony garden and the cabana where she had a bar set up.

There was a TV out there where I caught up on my home improvement shows. I never wanted a pool in my back yard, but I was thinking about adding seating to my garden area. Not that I ever had guests, but I needed a project. I was struggling to keep that gorgeous, gorgeous girl out of my head at all costs. Syre warned me about how crafty she was. Now, I knew firsthand just how manipulative Divine could be.

“Can we talk? Please?” Divine asked, walking out to the cabana holding a piping hot plate of food.

Just like clockwork, an hour or so into my shift, she showed up with food. If I didn’t have the mind to avert my eyes back to the TV, she would have easily weakened my defenses. She usually just spoke to me and put the plate on the bar before going back inside. This time, she lingered.

I had no idea what she wanted, but I wasn’t going for anything strange today. So instead of letting her beautiful, cognac, puppy-dog eyes break me down, I put my attention back onExtreme Treehouses.

“What do we need to talk about, Divine?” I asked, keeping my focus on the TV.

“I miss you, Lee Lee,” she whined.

I scoffed. “How the hell do you miss me, and I’m here four days a week?”

“I missusthen,” she countered placing the plate on the bar.

“I work for your cousin as your bodyguard. There’s nousto miss, Divine.”

“And will you stop calling me that?” She pouted.

“Is that not your name, Ms. Gold? Would you prefer me to keep it more formal? I don’t know how I let myself forget that I was the help once again.”

“Come on, Lee Lee. Don’t be like that. If you’re going to be here, the least you can do is be civil.”

“Is that not what the fuck I’m doing? I’m speaking in an inside voice although we’re outside. I’m not disrespecting you. I’m staying out of your way just how you like it. What is the problem, Divine? You want me to quit?”

“You know what the problem is.”

The break in her voice made me look at her. My legs carried me to the bar to stand in front of her before I could even process what was happening.

“What’s wrong, Divine? I’m giving you what you wanted.”

“This,” she said, pointing between me and herself. “This is not what I wanted, Liam.”

“Well, tell me what you want from me, Divine. I’m doing my job. I’m showing up every single day that I’m supposed to be here. I’m even planting you a peony garden, even though you shitted on me and played me for a fool. What the hell else do you want from me?”

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